Clarendon Quick-Build
Clarendon Quick-Build is a transportation safety improvement project along Clarendon Avenue from Johnstone Drive to Laguna Honda Boulevard. The project proposes a road diet (reducing vehicle travel lanes to one lane in each direction), safety treatments at pedestrian crosswalks, and the addition of a crosswalk and a rectangular rapid flashing beacon at Dellbrook (Palo Alto Avenue). The Clarendon Quick-Build project is following behind a SF Public Works repaving project. SFMTA timeline will be dependent upon completion of repaving work. The proposed changes use a new paint or striping to create the single lane configuration. No concrete barriers will be added to the roadway.
Project Justification
Clarendon Avenue from Ashwood Lane to Laguna Honda Boulevard is part of the 2022 High Injury Network. In San Francisco, the High Injury Network shows that 68% of severe and fatal collisions occur on just 12% of city streets. Between October 2018 and September 2023, there were seven reported injury collisions on Clarendon Avenue between Laguna Honda Boulevard and Johnstone Drive. The portion of Clarendon from Ashwood Lane to Johnstone Drive is included for continuity of the lane configuration and to improve safety near the Clarendon Elementary School and support safe morning and afternoon student drop-off / pick-up.
Traffic speeds have been a primary factor in injury collisions on Clarendon Avenue. By installing a single lane in each direction and adding edge lines, the roadway is visually narrowed, and drivers tend to drive slower compared with similar roadways with two lanes. Right-sizing the roadway will also match the one-lane configurations that feed Clarendon Avenue on both ends: east of Johnstone Drive and at Laguna Honda Boulevard.
Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon
The SFMTA will be installing a new crosswalk, curb ramps, and a rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) to facilitate the trail crossing at Clarendon Avenue and Dellbrook (Palo Alto Avenue). This work is anticipated to be built before the SFPW repaving project starts.
Funding for this new crosswalk and beacon is a result of the resident led District 7 2019 participatory budget process. The stated goal of that proposal, titled Clarendon Crosswalk: Safe Pedestrian Access for Neighbors & Trail Users, was “to create a crosswalk that fits community needs: a bold-striped crosswalk with pedestrian-activated flashing beacon, curb ramps for accessibility, day lighting of parking at the curb for visibility, physical or painted chicanes or lane narrowing to reduce traffic speed approaching the crosswalk, a center island, and signs for approaching traffic. This crosswalk is a junction point for recreational users between over four miles of multi-use trail on Mount Sutro and trails to the south including the popular Twin Peaks.
The proposal was approved by a majority of District 7 residents then handed off to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) for implementation.
Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon Project Timeline
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2019 2020 2022 2023 2024
Project Approval (COVID-19) Detailed Design Contract Admin Construction
Project Status
Staff from SFMTA and San Francisco Public Works (SFPW) have completed detailed design of the proposed improvements, which will include new curb ramps, street lighting upgrades, flashing beacons (RRFB), pedestrian push buttons, and associated pavement markings, traffic striping and signs. A construction contract was initiated in summer 2023 and work is scheduled to begin in February 2024 with an expected duration of approximately six months.
Project Goals
- Improve pedestrian safety
- Close a key gap in the San Francisco trail network
- Increase recreational access and use
Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon Contact Information:
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School drop-off queue on Clarendon. September 2023 -
School drop-off queue on Clarendon. September 2023 -
Intersection of Clarendon Avenue and Christopher Drive -
Passenger Loading zone at the intersection of Clarendon Avenue and Panorama Drive. -
View from pedestrian bridge up the hill towards Twin Peaks Boulevard. Clarendon Elementary School drop of zone on the left. -
SFMTA crossing guards assisting pedestrians at Clarendon Elementary School. -
View from pedestrian bridge of Clarendon Avenue heading downhill towards Laguna Honda Boulevard. -
Vehicles turning left onto Laguna Honda Boulevard from Clarendon Boulevard -
Looking west to Laguna Honda Boulevard, 8:15 AM, weekday -
students crossing Clarendon Avenue at Panorama Drive crosswalk. -
Crosswalk at Olympia Drive and Clarendon Avenue
